Monday, September 17, 2007

Robert Jordan, 59

Just heard word that Robert Jordan (a.k.a. Jim Rigney), creator and writer of the Wheel of Time series, has just passed away.

Like Charles, I'm also feeling guilty about the unfinished ending of his long-running 12-book series (11 books within 17 years, plus a prequel somewhere in-between). But then again, that's how good a storyteller he was for me, no matter the criticism leveled against him.

Ironically, that's one sadness about a writer passing away: less stories in this world, alas. But what can we do? Storytellers die but stories live forever.

Dies: Words

Quotes

The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity. ALBERT EINSTEIN

I am still shocked that so many people are not more creative, by which I mean more demanding of themselves. The main question we need to ask ourselves is: Do I try to be necessary to the evolution of language? Do I try to be original? And being original means using the tools necessary to be original, not just having the desire to be original. PIERRE BOULEZ

Men fear thought as they fear nothing else on earth -- more than ruin -- more even than death....Thought is subversive and revolutionary, destructive and terrible, thought is merciless to privilege, established institutions, and comfortable habit. Thought looks into the pit of hell and is not afraid. BERTRAND RUSSELL

I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound and stab us... We need the books that affect us like a disaster, that grieve us deeply, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, like being banished into forests far from everyone, like a suicide. A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us. FRANZ KAFKA

Obviously, then, I think a good critic in any field is a useful citizen, who is positively obliged to be harsh toward bad work. By a good critic, I mean a man with a good ear, a love for his field at best, and a broad and detailed knowledge of the techniques of the field. JAMES BLISH